Eat, Pray, Spend.
My new column is up over at Intrepid Media about the new genre of Priv-Lit and how to be happy without spending a fortune.
“It’s almost as if the recession ended and no one told me (or gave me a raise). For some, spending a fortune on taking a vacation is the point rather than a means to an end (the experience). It’s just another form of elitism. Even in these economic times, I read in a Gallup poll done in May of this year, Americans report that they are expecting to vacation less this year, but intend to spend more on transportation and other holiday and leisure costs.”
Read more at IM!
Life List #61 – Buy Everyone In The Bar A Drink
Some days are meant to be more amazing than others. That’s the nature of balance in the world. Sometimes you lose your passport, miss your flight, drop the cake on the floor or stub your toe. Sometimes you find that you’ve done your research, timed everything just right, arrive at the bus stop just in time, have the winning lottery ticket. It’s not always something you can account for, it just IS.
Yesterday was kind of a little bit of both for me. I spent literally the entire day at a coffee shop trying to tear myself away from the randomness of the interwebs to get my column done for Intrepid Media, and somewhere around 8pm, I finally finished. I was happy with the final product, too, so I would consider that a (very slow) win. While at the coffee shop, I was invited to a party that evening, but never really heard much about the details. I finally got a text around 9:30 saying the guys weren’t even done at work yet, so I didn’t really think too much about it. I was (again) goofing off online, and in my pyjamas – perfectly content to stay home!
At 11:06pm, I got a text from Thomas. Thomas is an amazing and interesting friend – practically my twin. He entered my universe with the verve of a hurricane, much in the way I assume I enter most other people’s lives. He makes me laugh, roll my eyes and then get up and join in all at once. Just yesterday morning, he asked how long I’d be in town. When I said I’d be here until Saturday, why did he ask, the reply was “So we can get married at the court house, of course!” Riiiight. I see that happening.
Last night, all the text said was: “Are you up?” For most people who text me that late, the answer is generally ‘Not really’ if I reply at all.
For Thomas, the response was immediate. “Up for what?”
The phone rings. He’s laughing, half in conversation with me, half with his friend. He’s dropping Kevin off at the train station five minutes from my house. “You have ten minutes to get ready,” he says, “I’ll be there soon.”
Of course, I hung up and jumped in the shower, brushed my teeth and hair and threw on a dress. A white dress, because you just never know. I’m out the door in ten minutes, looking as fabulous as ten minutes of prep time is going to look. We immediately start walking. Neither one of us knows where we’re going.
“What are we doing?”
“I have no idea, I thought we could go get a drink.”
“Perfect, we’ll walk in this direction until something strikes our fancy.”
So we did. We ended up buying really random things at the 24 hour Gourmet Market, where the Egyptian guy who runs it always puts free chocolates in my bag before I leave. Aww! Then, we discovered Anna Liffey’s, an Irish pub, was still open. A drink? But of course!
It was around that time that Kevin called, and I left Thomas on the phone outside, went inside to order drinks before last call – a black and tan for him, Hangar One Kaffir Lime on the rocks for me.
He joins me, we’re holding hands and laughing about how ridiculous the evening has already been and then we hear “Last Call!” from John the Bartender. “Shots?” Thomas suggests. “Sounds perfect!”
Right then, I have my epiphany. Best epiphany I’ve had all week.
“John,” I say, gesturing the barman over. “How many people are in this bar?” He steps away from me to do a headcount.
“Twenty-five? Right about twenty-five.”
“Do you know the Washington Apple shot?”
“I do.”
I grab Thomas’s hand. It’s below the bar top, where no one can see it. I squeeze his hand, hard.
“John, we’re getting married tomorrow,” I look at Thomas and grin wickedly, “and I would like to buy everyone in the bar a shot!”
Thomas starts laughing. He knows this is on my Life List of Things To Do Before I Die.
“John, do you give a discount for buying in bulk?”
He chuckles and says yes, he’ll hook me up. Of course, right?! He starts lining up the shot glasses and shouts for people to come over for shots.
He announces our impending nuptials and the desire to buy everyone in the bar a shot.
People are skeptical, but they start coming over. Asking questions.
“Are you really getting married tomorrow?”
“Of course we are! And you guys are helping us celebrate!”
We start weaving a ridiculous tale that I can’t even remember right now, but it was tragic and hysterical and too absurd to NOT be true, and by the time the shots were finally prepared, people were offering congratulations and cheering for Love Conquering All.
My camera was passed around, pictures were taken, toasts were offered, shots were quaffed. There were high fives and hugs and cheering and then, all too soon, the bar was closed down and we were the last ones. We finished our first drinks and thanked the bartender (with a big tip!) for his assistance.
After a final congratulation, we left him to clean up and walked home laughing. It was completely unexpected, totally refreshing and one of the best days I’ve ever had.
today’s thoughts.
Yesterday was a long day. I spent the night before in Guyana, celebrating a birthday with a great group of friends. I roasted an entire beef tenderloin – I slathered it in a wet rub made of rosemary, thyme, tons of black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, salt and Worcestershire sauce. I have to say, for not having roasted a whole tenderloin (and in general not being great with meat) it turned out AMAZING.
As the meat rested in the fridge, I turned my culinary talents to baking a birthday cake.
Before I had arrived, I worked out an idea of what I wanted to accomplish with this cake. I wanted it to be as good as my two favourite cakes in the world – my wedding cake from Edible Art in Charlotte (almond something or other) and the cakes I used to buy for birthdays in Vancouver from Cupcakes. There was always something amazing about these cakes. Dense but fluffy. Moist without being ‘wet’. Flavourful without being overpowering. Delicate and strong. You know, perfect.
I’ve always said that I’m better at baking than I am at cooking, in general. I just have an intrinsic understanding of the science. That’s not to say I haven’t fucked up my share of baked goods, but for the most part, I know where and how I can play with recipes to achieve my goals.
This time, I decided to take this cake all the way to scratch. I started with basic ingredients and played with them. I even managed to Twitter my way through the entire cake making process! I usually have my twitter feed going on this blog, but I have no idea what happened to that when I changed my theme a few times last week. (Notice how I changed back in the end? That’s because this theme is still way better than most of what’s out there.)
So, what I ended up with was a fluffy, perfect, white Almond cake with Chai (spiced tea!) Buttercream Frosting. I have to say, between the roasted tenderloin and the cake, I impressed even myself that night!
Sadly, though, I somehow ended up missing my passport (but didn’t find this out until I was already about to go through customs in Guyana) and am now stuck in the US without my clothes or computer (THE COMPUTER, PEOPLE) for at least a week or so. I have trips that back up at the end of the month, so unless I drop 20 hours (and a trip to Athens, Greece), I’m not going to be able to see home for about three weeks. I hope I brought enough underwear.
I spent three hours at JFK in the flight attendant lounge yesterday after arriving home from the Georgetown trip, talking with managers and In-flight Call Center managers and Scheduling – doing everything possible to ensure that I’m not being irresponsible with my job. I wanted to fly and make money, and make sure that the airline isn’t left trying to cover trips that should already be accounted for. It’s my job, after all, and I need to keep it!
I finally got things sorted out – I have an appointment on Tuesday with the Passport Agency to get my new passport (which is pretty awesome, I get to take new pictures! I hated my old picture!) in Boston. I’ll take a train up in the morning and everything should be peachy keen.
At the moment, I’m in my favourite coffee shop, Cafe Romeo in New Haven, CT. I’m having a toasted everything bagel with chive cream cheese and a root beer. I’m about to start a column for Intrepid Media from square one, since my other column is on my laptop, in Georgetown. I guess that column will be for next month. The one I’ll write today is going to be pretty interesting, regardless. I’m thinking I’ll write about how bad luck can be good luck in disguise. Or the Fortuitous Nature of Randomness. Or Karma. Or…who knows.
